New rumors say Samsung interested in buying webOS

[Jos]

Following HP's decision to halt its webOS projects and potentially exit the PC market Samsung quickly emerged as the most likely candidate for a buyout. Though HP didn't exactly confirm it was going to exit the PC market yet, the Korean company already put all speculation to rest, claiming it has no interest in making such a move. But now new rumors suggest that it's the ill-fated smartphone and tablet platform that Samsung has its eye on.

"Sources noted that the acquisition of HP's PC business, which has a rather low gross margin, may turn out to hurt Samsung's panel and DRAM businesses that have rather high gross margins, therefore HP's webOS may be the target that Samsung has the most interest in," a report on DigiTimes reads.

Despite plans to stop making smartphones and tablet devices itself, HP has said it is not killing off webOS and that it is seeking "the best hardware partner for it." Apparently their intention is licensing it to others but at this point that seems like a tough sell considering the Pre/TouchPad failure and lack of developer support.

For Samsung, acquiring or licensing webOS could help it stand out from the hordes of Android-running phones and tablets. It could also help the company move away from all the Android lawsuits flying around lately and protect itself against Google potentially "second-tiering" its Android partners now that it has taken Motorola into the fold.

It's worth noting that Samsung has already gained some ground with low-end phones based on its Bada software while also dabbling in Windows Phone 7 devices, so the company is clearly keeping its options open when it comes to the mobile platforms it supports.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/45261-new-rumors-say-samsung-interested-in-buying-webos.html

 

[mosu]

Just rumors and speculations, Samsung does not need WebOS at all.

 

[nismo91]

unlikely but possible, considering samsung's faith in bada OS.

 

[Jibberish18]

I mean all you need is some talented and enthusiastic software engineers......at this point I'm honestly thinking that maybe the world should live without it. The Dreamcast was one of the best consoles ever made but it died an early death and I had to accept it...........*tear*........*runs and starts crying*

 

[RaiDeR55]

If they do buy WebOs.. Man that Os been Sold and passed around more than a hooker on a Street corner...

 

[aj_the_kidd]

Its not like WebOS has a great future ahead of it, so why bother. If Samsung were to buy WebOS the number of sales from WebOS devices will not doubtedly not even come close to Android device sales, even with goolges purchase of motorola, hell even win7 device sales may do better

 

[Archean]

@aj
As Jose mentioned in the article probability is Samsung want to reduce its dependence on Android, and I am absolutely sure many other OEMs making android phones will be doing the same in near future, mainly because of Moto + Big G marriage (i.e. Big G is bound to give more preference to it at some point in time), plus all those legal issues.

 

[Butch]

I agree that this is unlikely but if Samsung did buy it and put on a full-court-press with good engineering and dev support I think it would be a great thing for us consumers. I own an Android phone but I have used a recent version of WebOS for a couple months and really liked it. It does have a lot of potential and the more I have to choose from the happier I am.